…(for a month, for a year) if you couldn’t live in your own I had some trouble coming up with ten, due to a couple of limitations I placed on myself: I have to have actually been there, at least to visit No weather extremes, one way or another I’m not sure I could truly live in any large, major city at this point in my life; I’ve grown too used to suburban conveniences like […]
I’ve always had family in New York. Since June of this year, I’ve had family (my son) in Washington, DC. But six years ago today, I was the mother of a high-school senior in Germantown, Tennessee, and we were watching the news on TV. I’ll leave the remembrances of 9/11 to those who were touched much more directly, although none of us is really left untouched. Somehow, though, the following seems timely… This PSA comes […]
For the record, camping is not my thing. But if it’s not yours either and you’re going to do it anyway, the San Diego Wild Animal Park really knows how to set you up for it – especially if your mom-in-law’s generosity has booked you a “premium” tent with a wooden floor, an actual platform bed, and sleeping bags and pads provided for the kids, so we really had to bring very little except a […]
Happiness Sold SeparatelyLolly Winston Elinor and Ted Mackey have been unsuccessfully trying to have a baby for awhile, and the strain on their marriage leaves Ted open to an affair with Gina, the personal trainer at his gym. Elinor’s discovery of the affair sets a series of breakups, reconciliations, and realignments of relationships. Despite the overly dramatic plot summary, Winston conveys the story with humor and humanity, as she shifts viewpoints among the three main […]
…and we’ll be there! My mom-in-law, operator of “Camp Grandma,” has generously purchased memberships in the Zoological Society of San Diego for us all for the last couple of years. She has also donated – again, very generously – to the Society, and was recently thanked with passes for one of their sleepover events. This weekend, Tall Paul, the Tall Kids, and the Short Stepmom (that’s me) will be spending the night overlooking the Africa […]
I know times have changed, and it’s a lot harder for young adults to get started on their “real” lives these days. The late-night phone calls and long-distance online counseling of my son the insomniac – who actually does seem to be making a decent transition to the post-college, living-on-his-own, working-adult world – have reminded me of this lately. Even so, I have some major disagreements with this post by Penelope Trunk’s recurring guest blogger, […]
Okay, so the other day, a friend was commenting on my monthly reading list and asked when I found the time to read. In the ensuing discussion, she described herself as a “goldilocks” when it comes to reading–she needs to have everything juuuuuust right to be able to focus. This caught my attention because, first, I thought that was a charming way of describing the condition, but, two, while we’ve talked about our reading habits, […]
Chances are pretty good that if you visit a blog called “Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness” more than once or twice, you may be a reading junkie and have no need of this advice. But via The Happiness Project, here are a few hints (the article lists 20 in all) for nurturing your own, or a loved one’s, reading habit, with running commentary: Keep a reading list. Either in a notebook, on a wiki, or some […]
For the first time in over a week, it was cooler outside than it was in the house this morning! You never saw anyone so glad to be able to open windows. It looks like the heat wave is winding down – our high is forecast for the mid-80’s today, which is a nice change from 100+. We were more fortunate than our friends in the San Fernando Valley, who had no air-conditioning for the […]
Time to learn something! 1. Go to Wikipedia.2. Click on “Random article” in the left-hand sidebar box.3. Post it! I’m not much for maritime history, but of course the name of this particular Civil War-era steamer caught my eye: The second USS Memphis was a 7‑gun screw steamer, built by William Denny and Brothers, Dumbarton, Scotland, in 1861, which briefly served as a Confederate blockade runner before being captured and taken into the United States […]
I looked at this topic from a couple of different directions, and discussed it with my husband, who actually has had to save things from a fire. We live in an area of Southern California where wildfires are, unfortunately, not rare, and he and his family had to evacuate their home due to a nearby fire threat several years ago. They were able to return safely and their house wasn’t damaged, but was still understandably […]
I’ve mentioned this before, but sometimes it seems like there’s a hive mind among the blogs I visit. I’ve been mulling over this post for a few days, and then this question comes up in the daily Q&A over on WIM. I always knew that parenthood was a life experience that I didn’t want to miss. But not considering myself a “natural” at dealing with kids, and being of the opinion that it only requires […]
